The Working Mother Research Institute surveyed nearly 2,500 women, including more than 1,200 who have cared for a loved one with Alzheimer's, to get a clear picture of how the responsibility of caregiving affects their emotional, financial and work lives, as well as their families.

Alzheimer's disease affects women in this country profoundly right now and will do so even more dramatically over the next 20 years, as baby boomers age en masse into the most at-risk demographic group of people over 65. The majority of the disease's victims are women, as are most unpaid caregivers for patients suffering from the long, slow decline of Alzheimer's.

In our survey, which is sponsored by GE and was designed with input from our knowledge partner, the Alzheimer's Association, we explore not only the burden of caring for a loved one with the disease, but also some ways that employers, doctors and families can help caregivers lighten their loads ever so slightly.

We also talked to women who are not caregivers, to learn more about how well they understand the disease and to get a sense of their feelings about it.